


Love in all Shapes and Forms

by HkHk



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F, Kink Meme, Thanks for the memories, all the feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-11
Updated: 2013-01-11
Packaged: 2017-11-25 02:29:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/634152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HkHk/pseuds/HkHk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard finds love in a Liara shaped person.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love in all Shapes and Forms

**Author's Note:**

> Another Repost from Kink Meme

Shepard supposed the moment she felt arousal was when she saw Liara shoot the Cerberus bastards in the face, a calm and collected look on her face as she made them unrecognizable to anyone but their mothers and even then that was a stretch.

Before the bumbling scientist was a cute distraction and like all asari were quite pretty but it never really made her feel all that different. She liked guys, loved guys. Women never really made her feel all warm and gooey inside. 

Although at the moment, all she was feeling was warm and gooey. 

"Shepard." 

"T'soni." Damn girl you fill out that armor nicely. 

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
There was something about the way Liara strutted into the battlefield blasting away enemies that got her blood boiling. The same way when she spoke in her Shadow Broker voice that sent tingly feelings all up her spine. 

Cool you jets, she thought to herself. One you don't like girls. Two asari are girls or well they weren't guys. Don't have the right equpiment. So three, it's probably just one of those professional crushes you get when you see someone get owned. 

It wasn't like she was going to let an asari maiden wrap her around her finger and manipulate her. No way. 

"Shepard!" 

"What? Coming!" Shepard practically jogged over without realizing it. 

Gods it was already starting.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Truthfully everyone else on the Normandy noticed way before Shepard did. The way her hand lingered on Liara's shoulder, the far more aggressive way she'd fight. Even if most of the Normandy's were practically flinging themselves at Shepard her gaze was tugged along by a nicely armored buttock. 

Of course no one would say anything about it. They were in the middle of a war and the last thing anyone would want would be a lover's spat. Sure Kaidan's harsh words nearly made Shepard kick his family jewels, and sure seeing him again only made her testier to be around with. At least Garrus was there to become a buffer between Shepard and Kaidan. 

Kaidan wanted to reconcile and Shepard just didn't. 

Poor Garrus, stuck between his mentor and the overly critical past human lover of his mentor. It made sense why he hid away shouting about calibrations and being busy. 

Kaidan and Shepard were quite civil, they were taught better after all, but it didn't mean that tensions rose a lot. And it wasn't the nice kind, the ones that end up with two very naked people having angry sex with each other. No, no. The tensions lead to terse words, gritted teeth and pained looks (mainly Kaidan's).

It got to a point where Shepard made a point of not being around. Which was why Liara watching, quite amused really, the sight of Shepard going into her part of the ship and hiding behind the door. She had wanted to talk to the commander about..things. Personal things. 

About something that had been haunting her for three very long years.

"Commander." Again amusement crossed her face as the human jumped whirling around in shock. 

Really now this was the place she had staked out for her operations, why so surprised?

"T'soni." 

Oh Goddess it was good to see her again even as the horror and desperation of war eroded what good cheer Shepard had left. The human spectre was adorned in a soft black fabric, a hoodie as she recalled from her xenobiology lessons, etched with the familiar N7 mark. 

It looked good on her made her look less hostile, softer. 

"You seem a bit jumpy." That was saying it mildly, Shepard had been quite tense and angry. "Is there anything I can assist in?" 

For a second Liara had sworn she heard something about Kaidan and an airlock but dismissed it as idle murmurings. 

"Naw I'm good. I'm really good. And you look good. Really good and fine and..." Shepard paused mildly surprised at her babbling. "Your scales look nice." 

Liara blinked. "Uh..thank you commander." Had Shepard been reading up on asari biology? No one had complemented her scales before. 

Shepard nodded, glanced at her feet, at the side before looking back at the Shadow Broker. "Can I stay here for a bit? There is a bit of storm and it's kinda brewing outside and I really don't want to get in the middle of it." 

"A storm? But we're inside...Oh yes one of your human idioms." Liara said to herself, once more recalling her classes. "Yes you may stay. I have a lot of work to do so don't-" 

It was very hard not to just pounce on Shepard especially when the human just invited herself onto her bed and just collapsed on it. But then unlike her species she had a lot of self control and wasn't one to molest the commander. 

Instead Liara pulled the covers up and tucked her crush of three years under them before continuing with her work. For asari a hundred years was a blink in the eyes and yet the past three years felt longer than that. 

It has been three very long years.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Slowly Shepard woke up to the smell of lilac and some other sweet scented flower she couldn't recall. It was nice and comforting. With a light sigh she rolled over onto her back, opening her eyes to stare up at the blank ceiling. 

The blank ceiling. 

Very, very, slowly, Shepard got up examining the bed she was on and hoping that someone else wasn't next to her. This wouldn't be the first time she got drunk and woke up next to someone. Still had her clothes, check. Didn't smell like sex, check. Good probably just passed out and someone was very thoughtful and let her sleep it off.

Excellent.

Of course right when all with the world was in order did she happen to spot a familiar blue figure slumped against her desk. It all came back, the argument, the storming off, her blushing like a schoolgirl. 

Shepard carefully crawled out of the bed tiptoeing over to T'soni. She looked...soft and innocent all the traits that were quite endearing but not exactly something she'd go for. Especially when it was attached to a woman-mono gendered person. Right.

T'soni looked like she had passed out right next to her research and was quite asleep. 

The room wasn't too cold but..but Shepard knew what it meant to have someone look over you. T'soni was alone having lost her mother and well, as for her father...

Shepard draped the blanket over T'soni before leaving the room. If anyone happens to make any comment on her being soft on T'soni she'd punch their teeth out.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thessia burned.

Shepard leaned against the shuttle unable to look at her companion. 

Thessia burned. 

The helmet hid her eyes, hid her face. The moment they docked she stormed out shuttle bay heading to the showers. 

Fucking Cerberus.

When she catches up to Kai Leng she was going to gut that little cocky fucker like a fish. 

Her helmet hit the floor with a loud clang rolling away. Shuddering fingers tore her shoulder pads off before they began working on her chest plate. Her armor was scorched, holes where her kinetic shields were unable to catch the bullet, long gouges where a banshee got very lucky. 

She barely caught herself as her legs buckled, instead of falling flat on her face, she sat on the floor. What was wrong with her? Why-why was her hands shaking? 

T'soni's face was the perfect picture of tragedy as they lifted off, as the planet's atmosphere turned grey with the amount of ash that accumulated in the sky. 

Thessia burned.

Why the fuck was this affecting her so much? She barely shed a tear when she had to leave Earth, couldn't let herself mourn. Couldn't let herself stop. Had to keep going. 

To anyone else, they would have never caught the soft whimpering down the hall. But then they weren't Commander Shepard. 

What she found as she rounded the corner was T'soni curled up against the wall crying in silence. She was rocking herself, legs tucked in and her arms wrapped around them. She hadn't even gotten out of her armor. 

It wasn't-she didn't like her but T'soni is a valued squad mate. That was the only reason she walked over. That was the only reason she knelt and carefully gathered T'soni's shaking form into her arms. 

That was the only reason she carried the asari to her room. Despite all that she'd become there was still a very young asari maiden underneath all that armor. Carefully she removed her boots and greaves putting them into a pile on the floor. Then in a very business like fashion Shepard slid T'soni out of her blue and white armor. 

Once more she wrapped the young Shadow Broker in blankets. By now T'soni had cried herself to sleep her sleeping face made her look so innocent and unsuited for war. 

And that was the only reason why she laid a gentle kiss on her forehead. 

It was a sign of affection, nothing more. 

Then Shepard went to take a shower. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Liara woke up in an unfamiliar bed but unlike Shepard didn't freak out. Instead she slowly sat up and looked around. Ah, it was Sheapard's bed, the one she had wanted to be in for so very long. 

But this wasn't the circumstance she wanted to be in. Liara clearly remembered breaking down in tears and of Shepard helping her. Oh Goddess, Shepard saw her cry. Didn't she promise to stop? 

Footsteps. 

The door in the side opened and out stepped Shepard dressed in her customary N7 hoodie and shorts. Even in such casual clothing Shepard looked magnificent. 

 

"Hey Liara, you okay?" 

Mutely she nodded. 

"Good." The human spectre shifted on her feet. "So I hope you didn't mind I got you out of your armor. I'm not sure if there is some sort of cultural taboo or something." 

"No. No Shepard. Thank you for comforting me." 

Shepard walked over and sat on the edge of the bed shrugging. "No problem, we all need comforting." 

A pause. 

"Even you?" 

There was only the hum of the Normandy engines. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
It wasn't that she was making a habit of drinking until she fell down drunk, it was just sometimes the drinks was right there and the bartender tells her it is on the house and boy that makes it all better.

Of course when she woke up on a couch just a food away from Aria, Shepard realized that maybe she should cut back on the drinking. Just a bit. 

The look of utter pity Aria gives to Shepard was amusing and disheartening at the same time. 

After she wobbled away with a quick and jaunty wave at Aria who returned it with an obscene gesture, Shepard walked back to her ship to nurse her hangover. 

Or rather tried to. 

"Counselor." Somehow she ended up right in front of the asari counselor's door step. Odd, she doesn't remember exactly how she ended up here. 

"Spectre."

The last time they spoke was when Shepard had to tell her that she failed and Thessia burned like a bunch of logs in a fireplace. 

The level of awkward was dialed up to eleven as Shepard was still drunk, the counselor seemed to be in her sleeping clothes and she was still pushing the intercom button. 

"May I ask what you are doing here?" 

"Eeeh..." 

"Right. Come on in. I imagine you are still drunk given by the fact you smell like you inhaled a brewery." 

Pretty soon Shepard was curled up on another couch in her superior's home. And fast asleep. 

It was a few hours later did Shepard wake by then she was dead sober and quite unhappy about it. 

"I see you've gotten close to the Commander, T'soni." That sounded like the counselor. 

"Yes, she is hard to ignore." 

"I didn't mean it like that." 

"No. You didn't. Can you tell me why the asari government is looking into my affairs?" 

A rustling sound and the click of cups. "You know I can't." More rustling. "How did you find out that that the Commander was here?" 

"I am a very good information broker." 

A pause. "Hm." 

"I must admit that I was quite surprised that you and Aria are-" 

"T'soni there are things you don't talk about." 

Another pause. Shepard got up and started walking to where the sounds originated. 

"I see." T'soni said this rather briskly as if she really did want to talk about it but knew well enough to leave it alone. "There is however something we will need to talk about." 

"Which is?" 

"About Thessia. About the beacon. About how YOU KNEW." Shepard felt a warm feeling crawl her toes as Liara's voice got loud and sharp. "We could have used that to help stop the Reapers. But it's too late now. If you are hiding anything and I find out later, which I will, things can get very nasty." 

Liara's Shadow Broker voice was very nice indeed. Gave Shepard the thrills as she hid behind the wall listening to Liara threaten a council member with imminent bodily harm and other horrible things. 

She wondered if the counselor would admit to anything. Shepard sneaked a peak and was amaaazed~

Mild mannered Liara was gone and in her place was a woman whose blue-steel eyes spoke nothing but the promise of backing up her words. 

"When the Commander returned with Cerberus the asari government wanted to have her killed." 

Snap. 

The sound of glassware being shattered was music to Shepard's ears. "What. She saved your life, she saved all your lives when she didn't have to." 

"Don't worry." The counselor sounded very calm. "As of now the asari government cannot afford to kill the Spectre. She is our only hope." 

Shepard could practically hear the shrug in the counselor's blue shoulders. "Her tales of heroics has made her a hero in the eyes of our children. You share their sentiments. Many a young maiden wishes to thank her for all that she had done." 

"She doesn't like asari." The sheer sound of...despair, of heart break coming from such a confident person..it broker her heart. 

A clink of glassware. "You love her." 

"Yes. With all my heart." 

Counselor Tevos sighed, gazing at the young maiden before her. "And have you told her?" 

"No. I wanted to but we were in a race against Saren and then she died and..." Liara gaze drifted. "It would change nothing, her feelings are her own. If she does not love me then I cannot change her views." 

Another sigh. Well more like a groan. "You are so young child to speak of love. Let me give you some advice, hmm? Not as a counselor but as one asari to another." 

"You will live for a thousand years, watch friends die, make new friends. But the commander will not. She will grow old and die. Or take a bullet to the head. Or the Reapers." Tevos made a hand motion telling Liara under no uncertain terms for her to keep her mouth shut. "And you will live. You may find others, have kids, who knows." 

"We cherish the time we have with those we love and we remember them. While we are long lived, it doesn't mean we shouldn't seek out others. If you love her, tell her." 

"..Counselor.." 

"She may reject you but you won't have to live with the what if's. Life is too long to be living in regret. In the end we will all die. You just have to make sure that you live a life worth dying for."

What could Shepard say in the face of such honest words? Sorry but I can't do blue people? Or rather, sorry I don't like girls? Which was true, mind you, but Shepard couldn't deny the burning passion that grows inside her when she sees the blue asari. 

Confused and somewhat distressed by this, Shepard did the only thing she could. Watch some porn. 

After the fourth video the depressing realization dawned once more. Blue people really don't do it for her. Crap. But at least she could let T'soni down. Gently. 

She even practiced her speech to herself. About how she liked T'soni was a teammate. About how useful she was and how sorry she was that she couldn't connect as deeply with her. 

"Commander Shepard? May I have a moment of your time?" 

It was T'soni carrying a small data pad? 

Shepard placed her helmet down, calloused fingers rubbing over the lines of where a bullet narrowly missed her. "Yeah? Course." 

T'soni placed the small metal thing onto the table. "I just wanted to ask about how you were feeling. I know you've been under a great deal of stress and I don't want to intrude-" 

Shepard raised a hand to cut T'soni off. "It's fine. I'm fine. You?" 

"I don't know Shepard. With the advent of our extinction looming at us, it brings things into perspective." T'soni took a deep breath. "I was thinking about the Reapers and all the accumulated knowledge we have gathered. The last thing I'd want is for all of this knowledge to be lost." 

She started fiddling with the small metal thing. It produced a small blue light that created an image of the Reapers, of the Crucible. 

"In the event of...well of losing, future civilizations will have a chance to fight back. I have been preparing this for a long time and....well there is one entry I need your opinion on." 

The images shifted, collected into...into her. 

"Liara...." This was...well beyond anything. Kind of creepy but in T'soni's way it was sweet. Shepard knew off hand a few people who would be worth saving, of people's whose wisdom was far greater than hers. 

"What do you want written about you?"

Shepard couldn't help but smile at that. How would history remember her? Honestly she hadn't really thought about it. That she was a ruthless son of a bitch who shouldered sacrifices and kept people moving? That she let her rage get the best of her? 

"I don't know Liara." Shepard gazed at the image of herself, before closing her eyes. "You know me pretty well. I say, it's your call." 

The shock in Liara's eyes was far different from the nervous one she'd walked in with. "Are you certain?" 

"Yeah." She looked at Liara patting the seat beside her. "I trust you." 

Liara paced instead of seating, looking nervous once more. "Well, let's begin with the basis. Earth's greatest hero and no doubt one of the finest Spectres was born in space. She was an excellent biotic and leader. She had to do what needed to be done for the greater good. Commander Shepard shouldered the burden of our civilization with grace and fortitude." 

A wry smile graced Liara's lips. "And sometimes, she did things because it made other people feel better about themselves. She was a good friend to her crew. It was an honor to know her, to serve with her." 

Now it was Shepard's turn to smile and laugh. "Careful. You're going to make me sound saintly and we both know I'm not that kind of a person." 

"To me you were." The quiet admittance shocked Shepard more than the words next. "I wished I joined you against the collectors, that I was there for you when you woke up." 

"Well you're here now and Ms. Shadow Broker I think you've done a fine job." She gestured to the hologram of herself. "You just wrote my name in the starts." 

Liara's smile turned softer, her eyes glistened in the light and all Shepard could think was, please don't cry . 

"Thank you Shepard." 

"Anything else?" 

"Uh. No. I..." Shepard knew Liara was mulling over the words of Counselor Tevos. Probably talked to her Father too. After a bit of eavesdropping, Shepard learned a thing or two about the formerly babble mouth archaeologist. "Yes. I do." 

Shepard waited for what she knew was going to happen. Got her own rejection prepared too. 

"I..I love you Shepard. I love you with all my heart and I wish.." Liara's blue gaze dropped to the floor, her bravado failing her in the face of her idol. "I wish I told you before. A long time before and then maybe...maybe we'll be together. It's foolish and selfish of want you I know but." 

"But I do love you and I treasure all the moments that I get to have standing by your side." 

If it were possible, Shepard felt as if her stomach sank into her boots. She wasn't prepared for this. For the pure emotion that Liara spoke her words with. 

"Thank you for listening Shepard." Liara turned to walk away. 

"Liara." Shepard got up and grabbed her hand. "I...I like you too." 

Well this wasn't going the way she thought it was. 

"You turned out to be a beautiful woman who stood on her own feet, blasted her way through Cerberus troops and is the Shadow Broker." Shepard entwined her fingers into hers. "I don't like woman, Liara. But I like you. And after this war I'm willing to try it out with you. You mean a lot to me." 

"After this war?" 

"Yeah. Someone's got to kick those Reaper's behinds. It's be a few billion years overdue." 

She squeezed Liara's hand gently, well as best she could through the armor. 

"Thank you Shepard for listening and.." 

"Hey. You have to promise something to me." 

"What is it?" 

"That you'd come back." 

Liara's blue eyes widened. "I..I can't promise that." 

"I know."

"Then why?" 

Shepard merely tugged on Liara's hands. "I don't want to go through this unless I can make sure there is someone to go back to." 

"Shepard..." 

"So come back Liara." 

In all likelihood it would be Shepard who wouldn't be coming back. 

"You too Shepard. I waited three years for you a few universe ending battles is nothing."

 

The debris was crushing her, or rather, it was attempting to crush her. 

Shepard's day started as crap and ended as crap. Firstly, they decided to attack the Reapers with a huge mother fucking fleet. 

All those deaths were just a big distraction just so that she and her team could get onto the Citadel to activate the Crucible. And hopefully destroy the Reapers. 

Getting there was a shitty experience too. Harbinger decided to make her life even more difficult by vaporizing a good portion of her team. Hell she didn't even know if anyone made it. 

Once she got onto the damn thing, waded past all the bodies, she met the Illusive Man. Again. But this time he was half way to husk world and not at all sane. That little fucker made her shoot Anderson. It was rather cathartic to shoot him until he died.

She understood him and in some ways, it was rather sad to watch such a great man die for a cause he believed in. The sad part was that he had been twisted so much that his death meant nothing. It didn't help save the Earth or anyone, simply sowed death everywhere he went. 

There was a rather bittersweet moment when she spoke to Anderson. About the war, about what to come when it's over. About her being a parent. And how good a parent she'll be. 

It was bullshit, her a parent? She could barely keep her squad alive. How the hell was she supposed to take care of a small version of herself? The thought of having a small person with her, with her eyes and Liara's blue skin....

Clearly the blood loss was making her brain funny.She just started initiating a relationship with the asari and now she's thinking about kids? Mordin may be right about the asari and neuro chemicals. 

Mordin. 

Fuck.

Fuck if he was here....what would he say to her? About her choices? Would he be happy that she didn't choose genocide? That she didn't decide to wipe out the synthetics? Legion's sacrifice didn't deserve the horseshit the Reapers were spewing. 

Synthetics and humans can go along. They can work together. Sure there were problems in the beginning but now they were fighting side by side. At first she'd seen Legion as a means to an end, a way of figuring out how to defeat the Geth or use them. The little metal bastard wormed his way into her heart.

She couldn't do that to them. 

"They will rise up again. They will destroy everything." The little holographic kid just reminded her why kids were little dirty cookie eating hordes. 

"Shut up." She started walking towards the right choice. Towards the end. 

"Wait! Where are you doing??" 

"I'm done dancing to your tune. I'm doing what I think is right." She fiddled with her omnitool. "You know the great thing about Geth? They can upload onto anything really. 

She pressed a few more buttons. Shepard turned to face him, her hand resting on the console. She raised her other hand up.

Gave him the glorious one fingered salute. 

"Say hello to my little friends." 

 

What the end result was, well...was chaos. The Reapers may have been nations unto their own, but the Geth were a brain the size of a galactic arm and they had their own purpose, their own drive. 

Their interference was enough for the fleet to break through. Enough for them to reprogram the crucible. 

The Quarians built people, real people who had dreams and aspirations. They just didn't know it. 

Shepard blinked her vision growing fuzzy on the edges. The omnigel was running out, hell she was surprised she was living this long anyways. Burned, shot, bruised and broken the only thing keeping her together was her will. She was too stubborn to die. 

Even if all she wanted was to sit down. 

"It'll be okay." Shepard flinched as she heard a hauntingly familiar voice. The boy was standing before her but he was...he looked real. 

"How? I..I destroyed you..." 

"No." He walked through the debris. A hologram then, a really life looking..thing. Fuck her brain hurt. "Perhaps." 

The human child looking thing gazed at her. 

"I'm dreaming arn't I? I'm dead and..or I'm dying." Why the fuck would he be here? Why not..why not anyone else? Thane? Where the fuck is that sea of yours?

"You are experiencing a dream. Something to soothe your passing." He didn't look angry at her just...proud? The fuck. Why did he look so god damn happy? "Our technology is still functioning. We are merely projecting an image for you to see."

His form shifted to that of Liara. "Turn back you little shit face." She wasn't going to have this sort of conversation with Liara. 

He was back to being that boy again. "You have broken the cycle." That damnable look of pride was in his eyes. "Thank you." 

It was hard to swallow when all you breathe in is dust. "Who the fuck are you?" 

"You may call us..the Creators. This is all our fault. In our insecurity and our fears we started this. The continued death of billions."

Well. Shit. This was new. "Why do you look human?" 

"It is a form that we chose that closely resembled yours." 

"Then what the fuck do you look like?" 

His form shifted again, it was something-something alien, and his voice became luminous. It was hard to describe something like..notes plucking the strings of..of everything. "A gift, Shepard." 

She felt a coldness against her forehead. "Thank you for saving us." 

Her eyes closed.

"Shepard-Commander, please hold still." A jolt as a familiar-not so familiar voice broke through the black. 

"Le-Legion?" 

She was jostled painfully. "Allied forces please convene on our location. Shepard Commander has been found." 

Was that a fucking rachni? Was it singing? To her? 

Her eyes closed again. She was just so fucking tired. 

"Shepard." A hand against her face. "Hang on Shepard." 

"L-Liara?" 

"Yes." Bitch was crying. 

Shepard smiled as she felt little droplets on her face. "You're beautiful, did I ever tell you that?" 

"Yes Shepard. You have." She felt an assuring squeeze on her fingers. "Stay with us." 

"I'll try." Shepard mumbled. 

Liara stroked her hair. "I'll hold you to that." 

\---------------


End file.
